Before the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, they received calls regarding Jayson Tatum. Is there any reason to think the San Antonio Spurs picked up the phone?
There are only a handful of untouchable players in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs have one, in Victor Wembanyama, but outside of that, only Jayson Tatum, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Jalen Brunson, and maybe Devin Booker fit the bill.
After the Milwaukee Bucks traded Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Dallas Mavericks flipped Luka Doncic, "untouchable" is rare company to be in. While the Boston Celtics consider Tatum one of the most critical players in the entire NBA, apparently, the rest of the league didn't see things that way.
Before the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown, teams called to inquire about Tatum. Of course, Boston shut those talks down right away, but it begs an interesting question: did the Spurs make an offer? Did they even consider it?
Spurs' Stance on Trading for Jayson Tatum
Next to Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, the best thing the Spurs could add is a versatile wing defender who can knock down 3s and distribute the ball.
Tatum is perhaps the best in the league at all of those things.
Now, we can't stress this enough: Boston shut down trade talks, and we can't be certain who picked up the phone, but we can make a few guesses.
Before flipping Kawhi Leonard to Toronto, the Clippers probably made a call. Or the Lakers offered an Austin Reaves sign-and-trade, perhaps. On paper, Tatum's fit in San Antonio would immediately make them the best team in the NBA, but we can say with a strong degree of certainty that the Spurs never made an offer.
How do we know? Because if they did, it would signal their intentions: grab one of the top forwards in the NBA. If they had interest in Tatum, why not make a trade offer for Brown after that one got rebuked? Or why not pursue a reunion with Leonard? Or make LeBron James an offer in free agency?
Instead, the Spurs signed Tobias Harris.
That's not a bad pickup, but there were other options. Harris represented a safe, relatively cheap option, and it's clear that's what the Spurs wanted to do all along.
A lineup of Harper, Castle, Wembanyama, and Tatum would certainly win one ring, but when it came time to pay the young guards, the Spurs wouldn't have had any money left over. Instead of chasing a two-year window, the Spurs are building for the long-term.
